Meigs County CC teams compete at Wellston

WELLSTON, Ohio — Getting a good look at the start —and even the finish.

Five cross country teams from the Ohio Valley Publishing area, all of which are members of the Tri-Valley Conference, competed on Saturday morning in the annual Wellston Golden Rocket Invitational —held on the campus of Wellston High School.

The River Valley Raiders, Eastern Eagles, Meigs Marauders, Southern Tornadoes and South Gallia Rebels all got an early run on the Wellston cross country course —for that is the site of this season’s TVC championship meet.

Leading the way were the River Valley boys and Eastern girls, which placed third and fourth respectively in the team standings.

The Lady Eagles enjoyed taking two top-10 spots, along with three in the top 23, six in the top 42, and all seven of their counting scores in the top half of the 143-runner field.

Eastern senior Jessica Cook, who qualified individually for the Division III state meet last season, finished fifth overall with a time of 20 minutes and 57 seconds.

The Eagles’ Ally Durst took 10th in 21:21, while Rhiannon Morris was 23rd in 22:32.

Kaitlyn Hawk (38th in 23:46), Whitney Durst (39th in 23:51) and Lexa Hayes (42nd in 24:16) were within 30 seconds of each other, while Hannah Hill had Eastern’s final counting score in 67th-place in 25:54.

River Valley was paced by senior Kenzie Baker, who crossed 14th overall in 21 minutes and 40 seconds.

Hannah Culpepper, a freshman, placed 35th in 23:38 — as Akari Michimukai, a foreign-exchange student from Japan, made it across the line in 53rd in 24:54.

Four other Tornadoes competed —Mallory Johnson (58th in 25:15), Madison Lisle (87th in 28:16), Kathryn Matson (99nd in 29:36) and Addie Matson (118th in 32:15) — while South Gallia did not have any runners take part.

For the boys, River Valley and Meigs fielded full squads —with the Raiders placing third with 99 points, and trailing only champion Teays Valley (41) and runner-up Athens (67).

The Marauders placed 10th with 270 points, as there were also 14 total boys clubs which scored.

Eastern, Southern and South Gallia sported two runners apiece.

River Valley senior Nathaniel Abbott, a Division II regional meet qualifier from a year ago, led the Raiders by finishing fifth in 17 minutes and 31 seconds.

The Raiders had four scorers inside the top 35, and all seven within the top 60.

George Rickett (20th in 18:39) and Rory Twyman (22nd in 18:44) crossed within five seconds of each other, followed shortly thereafter by Austin Livingston (34th in 19:19), Kyle Coen (41st in 19:37), Caleb McKnight (54th in 20:12) and Cole Franklin (59th in 20:16).

Southern’s Larry Dunn, Eastern’s Owen Arix (left) and Eastern’s Colton Reynolds (right) compete in the boys high school race as part of Saturday’s annual Wellston Cross Country Invitational at Wellston High School.

http://www.mydailyregister.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2017/08/web1_8.29-SHS-Dunn.jpgSouthern’s Larry Dunn, Eastern’s Owen Arix (left) and Eastern’s Colton Reynolds (right) compete in the boys high school race as part of Saturday’s annual Wellston Cross Country Invitational at Wellston High School. Paul Boggs|OVP Sports

Meigs’ Taylor Swartz and Southern’s Madison Lisle compete in the girls high school race as part of Saturday’s annual Wellston Cross Country Invitational at Wellston High School.

http://www.mydailyregister.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2017/08/web1_8.29-MHS-Swartz.jpgMeigs’ Taylor Swartz and Southern’s Madison Lisle compete in the girls high school race as part of Saturday’s annual Wellston Cross Country Invitational at Wellston High School. Paul Boggs|OVP Sports